Forming Fruitful Disciples Catholic Campus Ministry Association Convention May 29 June 1, 2018 Thresholds of Postmodern Conversion Pre-Discipleship Focus: Lived relationship with God Baptized or unbaptized, churched or unchurched. 1. Initial Trust 2. Spiritual curiosity 3. Spiritual openness 4. Spiritual seeking 5. Intentional discipleship (5% of active?) Adapted from Five Thresholds of Post - Modern Conversion, Doug Schaupp, 1998 We Must Not Confuse Passive Active Initial Trust with Personal Faith Curiosity with Serious Seeking Openness with Intentional Discipleship
Trust In God or: Father or Jesus or Holy Spirit Trust in a Christian, a saint or the Church or parish Christianity in general Curiosity is Not Seeking It involves trust, but does not imply real openness to change. Not yet. We can intentionally foster curiosity. Curiosity is casual. Those who don t believe in a God with whom you can have a personal relationship can explore that possibility at this threshold. People need a very safe, non-threatening way to express their curiosity without over-reaction or pressure from us. Learn to Ask Questions Jesus ran Q & Q sessions: What do you want me to do for you? How do you read the law? Where is everyone? Has no one condemned you? Who do people say that I am? What are you looking for? Our primary task at this threshold is not catechetical - to answer factual questions. We must first arouse spiritual curiosity.
Curiosity is Not Discipleship Practicing Catholics at this stage can be very active within the parish Attend Mass Serve in a ministry Attend adult faith formation events Give They may be intrigued by the testimonies of those at openness, seeking, discipleship They may begin to adopt the language of discipleship Their engagement can be expression of a relationship with Institution Family member Friends what the Church stands for Church leader Can also be a response to attending an evangelizing experience Cursillo, SINE, CRHP, Cornerstone, Light of the World Alpha, Discovering Christ Parish mission Etc. 2018 Sherry Weddell. Not to be reproduced without permission 3
Curiosity to Openness I am no longer simply curious about a personal God with whom I can have a relationship in principle I am beginning to believe in the possibility for myself. I acknowledge to God and to myself that I am open to the real possibility of personal and spiritual change. Transition Experiences People I trust say they have a personal relationship with God Family Friends Contemporary figures Jesus His relationship with the Father Religious/mystical experiences Could be personal: Adoration, prayer, experience of God s presence in life Stories from the saints, Scripture, family, friends, parishioners Andre Frossard Spiritual life He knew there was a God. Christians went to that God as their Father. He suddenly became aware of his horrible condition. He knew he was in the presence of the God who forgave him. 4 2018 Sherry Weddell. Not to be reproduced without permission
Eucharistic Adoration "First, we need to move from understanding the Eucharist as an object to the Eucharist as a person. (The Eucharist isn't a very holy thing, but a Person). Secondly, we need to move from a Eucharistic formalism to a living relationship. That night, however, I encountered Eucharistic Adoration for the first time in my life. At first, I was very hesitant about the whole thing, but as the night progressed, I decided to open up a bit and pray. I opened just a small crack in the door of my heart, and that was all God needed. I was overwhelmed by a sense of the presence of God. For the first time, I met this God that I believed in face to face, and I realized that he didn't just love me as part of the sea of humanity, but that he knew my name and loved me personally. The Prayer of Openness A skeptical woman professional in New York: - a Catholic Christian Outreach missionary "Every Sunday he (pastor) invited me to a simple prayer, God, if you are real, please let me know. I couldn t have prayed any other prayer.' Sherry prayed God if you are real, show yourself to me. A non-christian Asian boy in Australia: I prayed that same prayer when I was eight in a non-christian family, twelve years before baptism. Amazing to hear others have too. The Evangelical Gap 2018 Sherry Weddell. Not to be reproduced without permission 5
Spiritual Seeking Being open but not yet seeking can feel like seeking. They are passively open to the universe and think that is the goal. Seeking is active; intentionally exploring relationship with Christ and his Church and the possibility of discipleship. It is not yet intentional discipleship. But it does require certainty that personal relationship with God is possible because that is what you are exploring. (It s dating with a purpose, not marriage). Those who are open don t always want to come to a conclusion. Seekers intentionally seek resolution. They want to connect the dots. I need to make a decision. Becoming a seeker may not look like that different on the outside but can feel dramatically different to the one on the journey. There is an urgency. It feels like a quest. Fostering Seeking Model seeking after Christ in your own life for them. Share how the sacraments and the Church have nourished your relationship with Jesus. Help them confront issues of relativism, personal sin, and Lordship. For many, talking about personal sin sounds like an attack upon the self and you never attack the self! Dropping the Net Ask them explicitly to make a commitment. People can t seek forever. They often feel they need to make a decision or drop the whole thing. Following Jesus as a disciple takes a different set of muscles than seeking. You can get used to seeking and never finding and feel that commitment is impossible. At this threshold, we need to encourage them to make a decision. If they say no, ask why not. Find out what their blocks are. Address those blocks or help them set them aside. Help them focus on Jesus and central issues and leave less important doctrinal issues for later. 6 2018 Sherry Weddell. Not to be reproduced without permission
Should we encourage someone to follow Christ before they have decided about entering the Church? Fits the Church s understanding of pre-baptismal disposition. Perfectly appropriate in RCIA. Spiritual warfare becomes very intense Intercessory prayer is very important. In a Youth Retreat Setting 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration Every teen received a fishing net. In a Vacation Bible School for 5 & 6 year olds: Thought through the whole week in light of the thresholds Dropping their nets: 10 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration and a little Eucharistic procession. 2018 Sherry Weddell. Not to be reproduced without permission 7